Dennis Curtis, the last of four mayoral candidates to furnish his nomination, added to an animated campaign in Rotorua.

Though he polled fourth with around 1200 votes at Saturday's local body Rotorua mayoralty contest, it's clear the district has not heard the last of him.

As a new chum he has arguably been the star of the last several weeks.

He arrived as an independent voice of an established order – such hardy types as incumbent Steve Chadwick, Rob Kent and Reynold Macpherson.

Politics and family connections course through his veins.

On his father the late Darcy's side, his uncles are Sir Toby Curtis and long-term Mayor of Manukau, Sir Barry Curtis.

His mother Diana's (now McPhail) uncle is Sir Turi Carroll and Sir Turi Carroll's uncle is the celebrated Sir James Carroll, the country's first Maori MP.

To his lasting credit, Dennis Curtis was reluctant to be interviewed about his whanau links when approached several weeks ago by Rotorua Now.

We knew, we said, he was related to Sir Noble (Toby) Curtis and also Sir Barry Curtis, a formidable former mayor of Manukau now retired at Rotoiti.

We did not know, until recently, however, of the relationship on the distaff side – that his mother is connected to Sir Turi Carroll and Sir James. Rather than a game of four quarters, we now have a pack of Happy Families.

Dennis Curtis' bid for Rotorua's mayoralty elevated the campaign trail.

For he introduced refreshing candour to the stump, rising above the indignities of petty politics.

If he did not have the answers, he said so, earning approbation from one councillor candidate, Kevin Coutts, who noted Dennis's 'honesty”.

While Dennis has introduced himself as a son of Rotorua, his life experience has been nurtured by offshore appointments.

Like many, Dennis found life on the road his university. But he had remembered the words of the late deputy mayor, Johnny Lepper, who had said he always kept abreast of the news by reading the local daily newspaper.

Eventually, Dennis took up a degree in economics. He found employment in Fiji during the crises in the 1980s when the islands were in turmoil over coups which eventually stabilised under Frank Bainimarama, the Prime Minister.

He was a chief executive with fire security operator company Tyco Securities NZ in Fiji 'for a number of years”, appointed as a senior manager and subsequently national project manager for the financial team, overseeing balance sheets.

He also joined Foreign Exchange and sat on the Reserve Bank panel, during Prime Minister George Speight's time. 'It was to help the economy get back after that (coup),” Dennis says, which restored Bainimarama representing indigenous Fijians to power. Of Bainimarama, Dennis says he 'is quite a force”.

He also served on Avsec (aviation security) for New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands.

Though in his fledgling years, the young Dennis continued to represent Tyco's interests from the islands to Australia for three years.

Softly spoken, Dennis Curtis is emphatic in delivery, a clue underlying an eloquent patrician of magnanimous disposition. His politics are not, he says, aggressive 'but I have always had an interest in it.”

While his friends may have first turned to the sport pages, Dennis instead absorbed politics. 'I was a lone kid, eh,” he says with confirmation from his mother, Diana.

Dennis' father, Darcy, was also an activist, an ardent unionist for railway workers. He was union secretary in the heyday of New Zealand Railway.

Dennis fondly recalls the railways and bus services land now the site of the Pukeroa Oruawhata Trust ventures, better known as Central Mall.

'Sometimes things have got to go away before you appreciate they have got to come back.”

If he did not realise it then, the Prebble reforms helped shape his political mien.

Today, he says he says he's not surprised – and privately thought – at the formation of the Jacinda Ardern-led government. 'I always thought it would go that way, as I read it,” he says.

Once cobbled, politics started to make sense to the young Dennis Curtis.

'The more I make sense of it, the more I have the appetite and drive for it.”

But central government has become a by-product of his local ambition. Tentative approaches have been made; Dennis won't say from whom. When pressed, left and right wings of politics have extended interest.

'There have been woos over the last week and interest has been greater; I'm keeping it at bay and I'm keeping it real,” Dennis says.

Dennis relented to stand at the 11th hour following suggestions from various quarters he should. He finally decided on the day before nominations closed.

Returning from Whakatane, from consultancy work, on a Thursday he made his decision at 5.30pm.

He arrived home.

To Tania, his wife, he said: 'I've got something to tell you – you know I've decided to run for the council.”

While this was not news, for Tania had expected he would, he then said, 'Well, I'm going to run for mayor.”

He needed to challenge the status quo. By 10.38am, 82 minutes from deadline, he had filled in his nomination form.

Dennis Curtis completed a post graduate course in business management and commerce, later a New Zealand diploma in engineering. Shuffling papers were a distraction – 'I got tired of chasing the paperwork around” and 'I wanted to chase the reality around”.

He admits he wasn't the best student at school at times; here, his mother Diane interposes: 'He was a good student, but did naughty little things”.

But he says now, 'I've had a pretty full on career.”

From Australia, he flew to the North Sea or wherever he was detailed by his employers to trouble shoot at the oil wells 'all the time”.

This role involved transformational management, obtaining best return for the investor dollar.

His major role was to unite Kiwi, Australian and European employees in the work force. 'They didn't know how to work together,” Dennis says.

He then worked for McConnell-Dowall and the World Bank, delivering projects for airports. Significant engineering projects were also in his purview, along with troubleshooting in major infrastructure market areas.

He has also done his bit for the community, with advice in swimming community.

Until this interview, the Curtis whanau had kept silent counsel over Carroll ancestry.

'My big sister and I – when we have time – talk about the family but that's as far as it goes,” Diana says.

The political arms extend to the late Sir Peter Tapsell, a cousin of his father, who was for a time Speaker of the House.

Dennis has five children – three daughters and two boys – ranging in ages from 29 to 10.